Fódlan's Hunters
by RogueInfinity
Summary: A mysterious light appears and these hunters have dropped into a brand new world! (Not abandoned, just slow.)


**Part 1 – Scarlet Autumn**

**Prologue: Temporal Encounter | Dante's Universe**

**A/N: The prologue consists mostly of altered, yet somewhat in line, in-game events and story for the first few sections.  
**

* * *

"Dante!" A short shaggy white-haired man yells out, carrying a raven-haired man on his shoulder.

"You're late, Nero. Just finishing up." The man presumably named Dante looked behind him to see the two approaching.

Dante was covered in the blood from his enemy that laid before him. His grin shows some age as he shows some crows feet under his eyes. He rested his newly formed sword, which he named "Devil Sword, Dante", on his shoulder. Finger-less gloves on the hands that gripped it. The blood from the sword ran down his already crimson tattered trench coat. He was covered is cuts and gouges, though his wounds were already healing. His shaggy white hair swept across his face, covering his silver-blue eyes and getting caught on the stubble he presented. The black leather pants he wore, covered in blood as well along with his boots that were wrapped in belts.

"Is that really your brother?" Nero asked, out of breath.

"I'm afraid so."

Dante eyed Nero. He had white hair and crystal blue eyes. Nero's sporting a blue coat with a red and white T-shirt design under it. On top of the T-shirt is a necklace very precious to him as it was given by his wife as it consists of two wings joining each other start to end. He wore black jeans with black combat boots to suit it. On his back, a sword named Red Queen that can rev with flick of the wrist. His side, Blue Rose. A revolver that fires from the bottom of the barrel as well as the top. His most noticeable feature, his right arm. It's a stump with a metal rod poking out of it.

"Hey, run out of Nico's arms already? I thought she said not to be so rough with em'."

"Shut up. I pay for them, I do what I want with them." He snapped with annoyance. "I still have a Ragtime anyhow." Nero says letting go gently of the raven-haired individual. He then pulled a robotic arm from his side-belt. It's made of gears and clockwork with a numerical indicator on the back of the hand. He simply slides in onto the stump and it connects making a clicking sound in the process. Nero went to help the individual back up, but he managed to stand on his own.

"Everything alright, V?" Nero asked.

"Yes..." V grunted, using his cane to support him.

V's arms showed tattoos, not covered up by his sleeveless coat. He has a chiseled face though dry cracks have shown up on his skin ever increasingly since he's met Nero. His mid-length hair covering part of his face as he's hunched over, gripping the cane. His black pants and sandals getting dirty from recent bloodshed that Dante had ensued upon the demon, named Urizen.

Nero looking at Urizen, "So he was behind all this. Your own flesh and blood."

"Right again." Dante responded. He looked towards V, seeing him struggle to move, yet still intent on going over to Urizen.

Urizen was a tall demon, covered with eyes on most parts of his body. They were shaped like a thinner cat's eye, being green and orange, seething with what seemed like hate in every direction. Spikes coming off of his shoulders and head.

"In the last throes of defeat, I see." V said, flakes falling from his face onto the blood soaked ground.

"You..." The demon said weakly.

Dante moving towards him, "V, get back! Things about to get really messy."

"No... please." The dryness and weakness now more prevalent than before. "Let me. I want to end this battle... with my own hands." He finished, looking at his palms.

Dante, with no objections, steps back and gives him space. V stumbles towards Urizen, slowly climbing on top of him as he looks at the demon in the face. He slowly stands on him with his cane.

"Do not struggle. For if you can't even defeat me, then you've already lost." V says to the demon.

"I. Will. Not lose..." His head weakly moves to have Dante in his sight. "Not to Dante." He was met only with a smirk and laugh from the man aforementioned.

"I need power... More power!" Urizen yelled, getting more agitated.

"I know. We are one in the same, you and I. But you've lost me, and I've lost you. Yet we are connected by that one feeling." He kneels down and raises his cane towards Urizen. Where there was weariness from V's eyes, it's now been replaced with determination. "While thy branches mix with mine, and our roots together join." He recites.

Dante, realizing what's happening, runs to him to try and stop him. The chanting from V not stopping, picks up the pace. As he dashes to him, he sees a bright light envelope the area and sees a vision of a green haired man standing in front of an axe being brought down upon him. As V finishes his words, he thrusts down his arms. The light grows brighter and brighter. As soon as the moment of impact from V's cane, everything fades to black.

**Part 1 – Scarlet Autumn**

**Prologue: Temporal Encounter | Byleth's Universe  
**

* * *

A girl decorated with a long flowing blue dress and floor-length green hair sits upon a stone throne in the middle of a desolate room. She yawns and rubs her emerald eyes. She leans forward as her hair falls past her long elven ears. She wears pink and white ribbons through her hair and one color and each wrist. Barren and empty all around her as only darkness surrounds her. She looks up in slight surprise.

"Oh my. What could have brought you here?" She asks then continues. "I wonder how you got in here. It is most rude to interrupt a moment of repose. Very rude indeed."

She yawns once more and beckons forth the pitch black in front of her. "Now come to me." She commands. "I wish to have a look at you."

From the darkness steps forth a man dressed in black armor with pink crossed embroidery and black cape. A blackened armor piece around the waist and golden buckle on his front with a dagger resting on the front of his hip resting in a midnight blue sheathe. As he stepped closer to the girl, his facial features became more noticeable to her. He had dark cyan eyes as well as unkempt hair of the same color.

"Hmm... I have not seen the likes of you before. Who are you, anyway?"

"I am mortal." The man in armor says.

"I see. Then you must have a name of sorts. Go on."

"Byleth."

"I shall not ever grow accustomed to the sound of human names. Hmm. It all feels so... familiar. I think it's time for another nap. It is almost... time to... begin..." She yawns and closes her eyes.

"...Hey. Time to wake up." A masculine voice says.

Opening his eyes, Byleth quickly looks out the window. It's still dark out, yet morning seems to be a little way off. He looks over to the voice that woke him. A battle-scared man stands tall as Byleth gets up from bed. Lightly-armored with orange and white clothing underneath, he looks at Byleth.

"What dream were you having to look that panicked?" The man asked.

"I was dreaming about a war."

"A war? We haven't had any of those in centuries. In any case, just put that out of your mind right now. The battlefield is no place for idle thoughts. Risking your life is part of the job for mercenaries like us. Letting your mind wander is a sure way to get yourself killed." He says.

Byleth only nods.

"Okay, time to get moving. Our next job is in the kingdom." He looks towards the windows. "I told you before. It's far from here, so we'll need to leave at dawn."

Byleth nodded his head, "Of course."

"Hmm? Oh good grief, everyone is already waiting for us outside."

"Jeralt!" A fellow mercenary runs into the room. "Sir! Sorry to barge in, but your presence is needed."

"What's happened?" Jeralt readily asks.

"A group of kids ran towards us asking for help. They're still outside."

"Alright. Let's go see what this is about then." Jeralt commented, motioning for Byleth to follow. They quickly ran downstairs and opened the door to three youths, each wearing a different colored cape draped over their left shoulders, yet still the same type of clothes.

From the left, a tan-skinned man with a yellow cape, sporting spiked black hair with a braid down the side. The middle, a man with great complexion and blonde hair with a blue cape. The right, a female with a red cape, pink-white hair with ribbons on the left of her head.

The middle one presents himself as he steps forward, "Please forgive our intrusion. We wouldn't bother you would the situation not be dire."

"What do a bunch of kids like you want from us at this hour?" Jeralt asks.

"We're being pursued by a group of bandits. I can only hope that you will be so kind as to lend your support." The middle one continued.

Jeralt looks surprised. "Bandits? Here?"

"It's true." The female spoke up. "They attacked us while we were at our resting camp."

The yellow-caped one continued her sentence, "We've been separated from our companions and we're outnumbered. They're after our lives, not to mention our gold."

"I'm impressed you're staying so calm given the situation. I-" He stopped a moment as his eyes glazed over their clothes. "That uniform..."

"Bandits spotted just outside the village! Damn... There's a number of them." A mercenary runs in to give an update.

"I guess they followed you all the way here. We can't abandon this village now." Jeralt comments. His head turns towards Byleth. "Come on. Let's move. I hope you're ready."

The sun just below the horizon, the group heads to the edge of the village. They follow worn path until they reach a small stream with a short bridge for crossing. As they look over the bridge, they see the bandits gathering below a watchtower as more of them come in from the forest sides.

"Let's take care of those bandits before they overrun the village." Jeralt inspires.

Byleth charges forth over the bridge, footsteps on wood being heard and a sword being unsheathed. He swings at bandit, aiming for the legs. It connects. He spins to follow up, slashing across their chest. The bandit falls to floor as the others stand impressed.

"Good, Byleth. Remember to keep your form." Jeralt praises him.

"Impressive to say the least." The one in blue stated. "To make it easier in battle, I will tell you our names. I am Dimitri. I'm more experienced with a lance. The one with the axe and in red is Edelgard. The other is Claude, he's skilled with the bow.

"Byleth." He stated his own name, slashing the air to rid the blood off the sword.

Two more bandits charged Byleth, seeing to where he cut down their comrade. The quickest one thrusted his spear at Byleth, only for him to side step it and stab the bandit in the chest. The spear drops as well as the bandit.

Dimitri and Claude make their way to the second bandit, whom focused on Byleth. Dimitri lowers his spear and strikes upwards, but the bandit dodges. He tries to strike back, but an arrow flies through and strikes him in the neck and falls over. Dimitri looks over to Claude and gives a nod, then moves inward to the forest.

Edelgard remains near Byleth as they move together to a small group of bandits in a clearing. Edelgard strikes a bandit, clean in the back as they limp over. Byleth jumps and stabs another one, knocking them to the ground. Two more remained in the group. They retaliated and struck at Byleth, dodging one, but getting knicked by the edge of the blade from another one. Small trickling of blood drips down Byleth's arm, but he remains unfazed.

Edelgard readies to strike again, but a horse gallops by and slashes the back of the bandit. Jeralt halts the horse and looks at Byleth's wound.

"Are you alright?"

Byleth nods his head as he wraps a bandage around his arm. He looked towards the distant horizon. The sounds of battle fill the atmosphere with battle cries and steel clashing in rising dawn. Many of the bandit's morale seemed to be falling as so did too their numbers.

"Kotas! What do we do?" A bandit began to yell, shaking.

"We have a job to do and we're going to finish it, dammit!" The bandit named Kotas yelled, irritated. He ran to Byleth with axe ready to hack at anything in his way.

"Hey you, with the blank stare! Outta my way!" He swung the axe horizontally, which was parried by Byleth. He attacked again, but was sidestepped now. Byleth riposted and slashed at Kotas's side. He didn't fall and stood his ground steady.

"Arrogant bastard! I'll kill you!" He regained his stance. It was met short to a lance sweeping his feet by a man in blue. Dimitri then pierced the ground, but Kotas rolled away and kipped up. Only to be met again with a side swipe from Byleth. He falls to the ground, unresponsive.

"Now that that's settled." Claude exasperates, stretching.

Before anyone could react, Kotas's eyes opened wide in rage and stands up, charging to the nearest enemy to him. Edelgard happened to be standing near and was caught off guard. She pulls a dagger from her back to try to defend herself, but she's shaking and her stance is off.

Running as fast as he could, Byleth interjected himself between the blow and Edelgard. Waiting for the pain, he tensed up, knowing that it was about to connect. A moment goes by and he opens his eyes. He sees the that the lush green forest and hills are no longer in sight, instead replaced by a black void.

"Honestly! What are you accomplishing with that little stunt?!" A familiar voice yells. "It's like you're trying to get me killed you fool."

The girl from his dream earlier this morning sits in the same throne. She sighs. "Well it's fine. After all, if you don't know the value of your own life. You're not going to protect very well, are you? Of course not." She gets up cheerfully from the throne with a smile on her face. "Well then, I guess it's up to me to guide you from now on. Right?"

"You can call me Sothis. I'm also known as 'The Beginning'."

"Sothis?" Byleth asks.

"I was not able to recall my name... until just now. And just like that it came to me. How odd."

Byleth only stares in confusion by everything that is happening.

"That look upon your face... Did you think me a child? A mere child whom had forgotten her own name?!" She makes a sound of disgust. "That 'child' just saved your life. And what does that make you?"

Byleth remained silent.

"You threw yourself in front of an axe to save just one girl. Yet all is well, as I have stalled the flow of time for now. You would have died if I had not intervened."

"Thank you." He bowed before her.

"There now. Is gratitude so much to ask? I did deem you worth saving after all. Though it is only momentary, time has stopped. However did I manage that...?"

"What now?"

"When time begins again, the axe will tear into your flesh and you will surely meet your end."

Byleth steps back in surprise, but very quickly regains his composure as he thinks about the situation. His thoughts were broken by Sothis's yelling.

"How rude of you to drag me into this! Now what to do..?"

"Are you able to turn back the hands of time?" Byleth asks.

"Of course! I have to reverse time!" She summons a yellow circle in front of her. "Yes! I do believe it can be done! You really are quite troublesome."

He smiled weakly.

"I'll try and wind back the hands of time to reasonable point. You are aware of what's to come, which means you can protect yourself this time. Now go! You who bear the flames within, drift through the flow of time to find the answers you seek."

Byleth head starts to spin, but something feels off to him. His head is filled with other worldly visions. A young man in a red coat running in place with a fire behind him. A black haired man stabbing with his cane. An demonic arm being ripped off. Sothis's circle that she summoned begins to waver.

"Oh no! I used too much effort in reversing time! Try and hang in there. I can't have you dying on me, because of me. Do you understand?" She says struggling to keep time itself in place. "I got it! Just a few more seconds."

His vision fades to black then back. He looks up to see the forest and his comrades surrounding the area.

"Now that that's settled." Claude exasperates, stretching.

Before anyone could react, Kotas's eyes opened wide in rage and stands up, charging to Edelgard. She pulls out a dagger from her back and tries to defend herself, but she's shaking and her stance is off.

Byleth beings to run towards him, his actions now known. However, he stops as something peculiar catches his attention. Screaming could be heard that he did not hear last time. As Kotas readied his axe to hack at Edelgard, he was crushed by three falling men.

**Part 1 – Scarlet Autumn**

**Prologue: Temporal Encounter - Part 2 | Byleth's Universe**

* * *

"What the hell happened?" The guy with the mechanical arm asked, rubbing his head from being disoriented.

"I have no clue..." The man in the red coat said, doing the same. "I think we landed on someone."

"Get off of me..." Kotas muttered.

"Damn it! I was so close." The raven-haired man yelled.

"V. I'm going to beat your as-" He stopped himself. "D-Dante?!"

"Yeah. What's up, Nero?" Dante asked.

"You're... You're young!" Nero yelled in surprise.

"What?" Still shook up from the fall, he pulled out his sword. It was no longer the Devil Sword, Dante. It has reverted back into Rebellion. The Devil Sword, Sparda laid embedded in the ground next to him. Using the reflection of Rebellion, he looked at himself. He was younger, just like Nero said. He looked just like he did after the events Temen-ni-gru.

"I said get off of me!" Kotas shouted, swinging the axe backwards on the ground at Nero.

Nero grabbed his hand and spun around, kicking his face; knocking him unconscious. "Who the hell is this guy now?"

"Let's stay on track here. V. What the hell were you trying to do?" Dante said sternly.

"I was... trying to retrieve myself." V responded, getting up off the ground.

"What does that even mean?"

"V. What you were trying to tell me earlier... Are you-" Nero was interrupted.

"Yes. I am part of Urizen... I am part of Vergil."

"As much as I want to know more about that. We should really find out where we are, and who these guys are that are point their weapons at us." Nero spoke up.

Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude, and Byleth all gather together holding their weapons at the ready.

"Jeralt!" A mercenary yells, "What do we do with these guys? They just appeared out of nowhere."

Jeralt dismounts the horse and walks towards them. "You three. What are your names and where do you hail from?"

"Let's just answer him and get this done with quickly. Agreed? Dante asked. Nero and V both nodded.

"Dante. Redgrave City."

"Nero. Fortuna."

"V. I hail from no city. I am but a wanderer."

"I have never heard of Redgrave City nor of Fortuna. Next question. Are you friend... or are you foe?" Jeralt continues to ask, eyeing them narrowly.

Dante answers, "I was gonna ask that myself. I hope friend, because it's been one hell of a day for us."

"Well, you didn't attack us and did knock out the bandit leader." Jeralt says out aloud.

"To be honest, we don't even know where we are." Nero comments, "We were at the top of the Qliphoth then a bright light blinded us. Before we knew it, we were falling through the air."

"Qliphoth? What's that?"

"It's a plant that sucks the blood of humans." V answered. "To put it quite simply."

"I haven't heard or seen anything of that nature." Jeralt commented.

"Nero, V. Look around. I don't think we're anywhere near the Qliphoth to begin with." Dante motions pointing at the massive change in scenery.

"You're right. It's like we're in another world. I don't see a car or streetlight anywhere."

"Jeralt, right?" Dante asked. "What year is it and where exactly are we?"

"Great Tree Moon of the Imperial Year of 1180 and we're on the edge of Remire Village."

"Great Tree what?" Dante rubs his head, trying to wrap his mind around everything." Yeah, and considering that no one else except us batted an eyelash, we might be far away from the Redgrave City we know."

"I think it is quite safe to say we are not of our own world or universe anymore." V says. "Look around you. There are no demons running amok and the land isn't infested with the Qliphoth roots. At the rate they were spreading, would there not be at least one in sight regardless of where we would have landed?"

"Good point, but now the question is how, huh." Dante comments.

"That would explain why I never heard of Redgrave City and Fortuna." Jeralt butted in. "I don't know whether to completely trust you guys now, but you didn't attack anyone at first sight and only did when the bandit leader attacked you." He looked towards his men. "You can stand down for now."

A group of armored men rushed into the clearing of the forest where they were at. "The Knight of Seiros are here! We'll cut you down for terrorizing our students!" The one yelling stands out with more sturdy armor. He looks around the area. "The thieves have been dealt with?" They run towards the group. "The students seemed to be unharmed. And who is this..?"

"Oh boy, this should be fun." Dante says, picking up Sparda. He tried to make it disappear and it worked. It seemed to him that some of the functionalities of The Devil Sword, Dante still worked.

Jeralt buries his face into his hand. "Ugh... Why him?"

"Captain Jeralt? It is you! Goodness, it's been ages. Don't you recognize me? It's Alois! Your ole' right hand man! Well, that's how I thought of myself anyways." He laughs. "It must have been 20 years ago that you just vanished without a trace. I always knew you were still alive."

"Jeez, this guy is so loud. I can't hear myself think." Nero added, looking around the land.

"You haven't changed a bit, Alois. You're still loud as ever. And drop that 'captain' nonsense. I'm not your captain anymore. These days I'm just a wandering mercenary. One who has work to do. Good-bye old friend."

"Right... Good-bye, Captain." Alois said, but then caught himself. "Wait! That's not how this ends."

"It isn't? Damn." Nero added.

"I insist you return to the monastery with me!" Alois said to Jeralt.

"Garreg Mach Monastery... I suppose this was inevitable."

Alois looks over to Byleth, "And how about you, kid? Are you the captain's child?"

"Yes.", He responds.

"Is that so? Well, physical differences aside, your mannerism do remind me of the captain's. I'd love for you to join the monastery too. You will join me, won't you?"

Jeralt sighs.

"What's troubling you, Captain? You aren't about to run off again, aren't you?"

"Even I wouldn't dare run from the Knights of Seiros." Alois and Jeralt began to head off.

"Hold on there, Jer." Dante stopped them. "What about us?"

"We'll need information about this world to get by, let alone get home." said Nero, gripping his mechanical arm.

"That's right. Alois, these men here are in a peculiar situation. Maybe Lady Rhea could help with it." Jeralt told him.

"What kind of situation?"

"Apparently, they've got tossed in to our world by magic or something rather similar."

"That's a bit far-fetched, don't ya think?"

"Yeah, but I saw them fall with my own eyes and their knowledge is lacking and the boy's arm... I haven't seen anything like it before."

"Alright. Maybe it would be worth taking them to Lady Rhea after all."

"Yes! Finally making some leeway and progress!" Nero said excitedly.

"Just stay close to us, we don't need more bandits to deal with." Jeralt says with Alois nodding his head.

"I think we would be able to manage by ourselves, even if we happened to be attack by an enemy. We thank you, for your sincerity though." V comments, pointing his cane at Nero's Red Queen, then over to Dante's Rebellion.

"Even so. There's strength in numbers." Jeralt argued.

"Damn, can't argue with that. Can ya, V?" Dante said.

"Either way, let's get moving. It'll be a while until we reach Garreg Monastery. Let's set out while the sun is still rising." Jeralt commanded to the newcomers and mercenaries.

_"The Knights of Seiros do seem rather skilled." _Byleth hears a voice. He quickly notices the voice to be of Sothis. _"Ah. It seems your presence is required. Don't let me to keep you waiting here."_

Jeralt and Alois led the group by taking the front, followed by many of the other mercenaries behind them. Dante, V, Byleth, and Nero were walking behind the mercenaries. The beaten path soon traversed into a stone path with what presumably led to the Monastery.

"Hey you guys!" Edelgard ran towards the group with Claude and Dimitri lagging behind. "I wanted to say, I appreciated your help back there. Most of you seemed preoccupied so I thought it polite to wait until I had a chance. And you, Byleth. Your skill is beyond question. You're clearly an experienced mercenary. Same with you." She looked over to the man with the mechanical hand. "Nero, was it? You seem very experienced as well by the way you knocked out the leader. Practically your whole group didn't seem to be phased by us holding weapons to you either." She went on to say.

V looks down to his book and speaks. "We are no strangers to combat. Where we hail from, we needed these skills and fortitude to survive."

She looks back over to Byleth. "Your father is Jeralt, correct? Former captain of the Knights of Seiros. Oft praised for as the strongest knight to ever live. Have I missed anything?"

"I didn't know how he was a captain." Byleth responded in simple terms.

"How curious. I'd wager the explanation for that is fascinating indeed."

"How the hell do you live with your father for your entire life and not know about him being this so called 'Strongest Knight'?" Nero asked Byleth.

"Never mentioned it." He responded simply once again.

"Hey! You guys are coming with use to the Monastery, right? Of course you guys are. I'd love to borrow some ears as we traveled." Claude extends the verbal invitation. "Oh, I should mention that the three of us are students at the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery. We were doing some training exercises when the bandits attacked. I definitely got the worst of it."

"You don't look too worse for wear." Dante says, observing the forest and trail.

"He shouldn't as he was the first to run off." Edelgard says.

"I was the first to make a strategic retreat!" Claude mentions, confirming Edelgard's statement. "Everything would have worked out if these two hadn't followed me and ruined everything."

Dante laughed with Nero soon following afterwards.

Claude right eyebrow began to twitch as he furrowed them. "Because of them... Every single one of the bandit's chased after us."

"Ah, so that's what you were thinking, Claude. And here I thought you were acting as a decoy for the sake of us all." Dimitri says, believing his tale.

"His intentions were clear as day. You will prove a lacking ruler if you cannot see the truth behind a person's words." Edelgard lectured Dimitri.

He retorted, "Hm. You will prove a lacking ruler yourself if you look for deceit behind every word and fail to trust those whom you rely on."

"Do we really need to sit here and listen to debate between two children? I'm getting hungry and want to move on and get some grub." Dante mentioned casually.

"Took the words right out of my mouth. They both seem a little naive to me." Claude agreed with him.

"Me? Naive? Tell me, are you actually incapable of keeping quiet, or is your lack of self-awareness a condition of some sort?" Edelgard said angrily.

Dimitri held up his hand as to defuse the situation, "In any case, I hope you four will forgive our digression. I wanted to speak with you Byleth, if you could spare a moment." He continued, "The way you fought across the battlefield was absolutely mesmerizing. You never lost control nor did you lose your concentration. You have shown me there is much to learn."

Edelgard interjected, "Your skill is precisely why I must ask you to consider lending your services to the empire. I might as well tell you now. I am no mere student. I am also Adrestian Empire's-"

"Halt, Edelgard." Dimitri stopped her. "Please allow me to finish my own proposition." He turns back towards Byleth. "The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus is in dire need of exceptional individuals like yourself. Please, do consider returning to the Kingdom with me."

"From what it sounds like is you guys just met Byleth and now your begging him to come work your country? That seems a bit sad. At least take him to dinner first." Dante asks.

Nero can only hold back a laugh from how desperate they seemed trying to recruit him into their ranks in their homelands.

"Empire." Edelgard says.

"Kingdom." Dimitri says at the same time."

"They really are hasty, aren't they. Trying to recruit someone you just met. Shame." Claude intervenes. "I was personally planning to develop a deep and long lasting friendship on our way back, at the very least, before begging for favors. But it seems there's no time for niceties in this world, huh?" Looking over to Dimitri and Edelgard. "So stranger, where does your allegiance lie?"

_"It seems one's birthplace is quite significant to them. Yet they seem so impressed by you, that you may take your pick. Well?" _Sothis says.

"What about your house, Claude? Aren't you gonna try and stick some info in his head?" Dante asks.

"Well, now that you've asked. My house is a noble household, however the Leicester Alliance is made up of noble and commoner house holds." He answers.

"I don't know yet." Byleth says.

A moment of silence entrails the answer until Dimitri breaks it.

"Oh! That's right. The four of you will be stepping into the Monastery for the first time, correct?" Dimitri asks. "I'll be happy to show you guys around."

"The place does seem quite large." V comments. "It'll definitely be helpful to have a guide."

"Garreg Monastery really is Fódlan in a nutshell. The good and the bad." Claude adds.

"Like it or not, we'll be there soon enough." Edelgard adds as well.

They arrive at the entrance to the stone gate with a dropped iron gate to protect it from intruders. The group can hear the chains being pulled to lift the gate. The gears spinning as the squeaks from chain are prevalent. The gate is lifted and the groups move into the gateway. Jeralt gets off his horse and takes it by the reigns on the ground. He looks up to the top of the Monastery and Byleth's eyes follow.

"Rhea's here..." Jeralt says under his breath.

"Alright, you three. Claude, Dimitri, and Edelgard are dismissed to go back to your rooms." Alois instructs. The three nod and leave out of sight behind some gardens. "Okay, the rest of you. Follow me. Although, I don't think I have to worry about the captain being lost." Alois laughs.

"I told you to stop calling me captain already. I no longer have that title." He says sternly.

"Alright. Let's go see this Rhea person. I'm dying to get back to our world." Nero says, now filled with excitement.

Jeralt nods his head and Alois nods his as well. They take twists and turns and eventually meet the gate to the Cathedral. The gate raises and they walk up the stairs and stop in the audience chamber.

"I'll be outside." Alois says formally. "Rhea will be with you soon." He walks out the chamber doors as they close behind him.

"It's been years since I last set eyes on this place. To be forced to see Rhea now..." Jeralt reminisces.

"You've been here before?" Byleth asks.

"I've never spoken of this to you before, but many years ago; I was a knight here. I reported to the archbishop. Lady Rhea." He answers, placing his hand under his chin.

"Wait, so you know this Rhea lady?" Dante asks.

"Yeah. A lot of events happened to lead to myself no longer working with the Knights of Seiros. Many people in Fódlan are devout followers of the teachings of Seiros. The leader of that large group, is Lady Rhea."

"Thank you for your patience, Jeralt and guests. My name is Seteth. I am the adviser to the archbishop." He introduces himself.

The green haired, green eyed man stands up straight, presenting himself very professionally. He wears a talisman on his head that is a thin gold jewelry. A suave navy blue and white top, white pants, and dark boots. A strong face with some facial hair to match.

Standing next him, a woman. Long light green hair and on top of it, rests a crown. A motherly face and light green eyes. She wears a long white dress, decorated with a gold color and navy blue. Her figure is slim and tall.

"Right. Hello." Jeralt meagerly answers.

"It has been a long time, Jeralt. I wonder... was it the will of the goddess that we have another chance to meet like this?" The woman spoke.

"Forgive my silence, Lady Rhea. Much has happened since we last spoke." Jeralt said, bowing his head.

"So I see." Rhea said, "The miracle of fatherhood has blessed you."

"Yes it has, Lady Rhea."

"What is the name of your child?"

Jeralt looks to his son and nods.

"Byleth." He bowed deeply.

"A fine name indeed." She looks to the group behind Jeralt and Byleth. "Who are these fine young gentlemen?"

"The one with the red coat, is Dante." He introduces. "The one with the metal hand, is Nero. The quiet one with the book, is called V. You three, this is Lady Rhea."

"Nice to meet ya." Nero gave a weak salute.

V closed his book, "Greetings."

"For someone who's been in charge since Jer here, you look great." Dante smirked. "With introductions out of the way, let's get down to business."

"Thank you for the compliment." She smiled. "But yes. Let us get down to business." She looks upon Jeralt and Byleth once more. "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for saving the students of the Officers' Academy."

Jeralt sneers.

"Jeralt. You already know what it is I wish to say, do you not?" She asks him.

"You want me to rejoin the Knights of Seiros, don't you? I won't say no, but..." Jeralt says hesitantly.

"Your apprehension stings. I had expected that Alois would have already asked this of you." She sadly comments. "I must step away for no-"

"Hold it, Rhea." Dante interjects, "We have some business with you. We were told that you may be able to help us."

"That's Lady Rhea to you!" Seteth says loudly.

"Seteth, it's fine." She says, holding a hand up, motioning him to quiet down. "What would this business be?"

"These people claim to be from another world. I would call them crazy, however..." Jeralt looks at Nero's hand and Dante's Ebony and Ivory. "The technology they have is nothing anyone has seen before. Not to mention, they fell from the sky during the battle."

"I see... That is quite interesting indeed. What happened before you three were moved from your own world?"

Dante and the group recaps what happened before they saw the light. He explains what the demons in his world are and the events that transpired ever since Nero had his arm torn off by Urizen. They mentioned that V attempted to revive Vergil and did not succeed. That Dante had reversed in age and the Devil Sword, Dante had split back in two. V has only opened his book and continued to read, part of him thinking that the reason they're like this now is because of his attempt to merge with Urizen.

"That is, quite remarkable. If to say the least." Rhea says in deep thought. "I believe you're telling the truth. I'll have to reflect on this. I understand how crucial this moment was to be taken away from your world."

"Lady Rhea, please. These men could just be saying that to waste our time." Seteth debates.

"Seteth, hush now. I've made my choice to help them." She says, walking away. "I'll take my leave now. It was nice to meet all of you. Until tomorrow, whenever I have more information for both of you, Dante and Byleth."

She walks out the door with Seteth soon following with Jeralt. There is murmuring outside before for a couple of minutes before Jeralt walks back in. The doors slam shut and the sound echos through the room as the door handles rock back and forth.

"Jeez, so it seems like we're gonna be stuck here for another day." Nero says sitting down on the floor.

"It seems that way... Oh well. Gotta make due with what we have now." Dante said, stretching his arms.

"I can't believe it... Forced back into the Knights of Seiros." Jeralt says to himself, shaking his head. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this. Looks like we'll be stuck here for a while... I'm afraid your services are requested as well. All of yours."

Dante and Nero look over to Jeralt as well as V looking up from his book.

"As a mercenary?" Byleth responds, with confusion on his face.

"Nothing like that. They want you to teach by the sound of it. Same goes to you, Dante. They want you to be able to teach. Not a class, but to be a tutor for some of the students that are struggling to develop. When you're not tutoring, they'll want you to attend class with Byleth."

"Well shit. I don't have anything else to do though, and if it brings me action, then what the hell." He grins.

"As for Nero and V, they want you two to attend class as well, but to be in separate classes as to not fill up a single class altogether." Jeralt continues.

"And what if we don't want to do it?" Nero asks rebelliously.

"Then she said she'll refuse to help any of you get home."

Nero scoffs, "Dammit."

"It'll give us a chance to learn about this world and what it entails. 'When thy knowledge lacks, thy ignorance may rise.'."

"Yeah, yeah. Shut it with your poetry nonsense." Nero responds annoyed.

Jeralt looks back to Byleth. "Anyway, the academy just happens to be short of a professor. Apparently, that damned Alois put you in for recommendation for one."

The door opens and closes again, this time two older people walk into the room. One man and the other a woman. The man has gray hair and a monocle with a grown out mustache. Wearing a green ruff with a very light brown outfit.

The woman is very feminine. She has light brown hair and brown eyes, wearing heavy makeup visibly. She has a choker around her neck, holding up the front part of the long cyan dress. On top of the dress she wears a white coat decorated with orange stings.

"So. You must be the new professor. My, how stern and handsome you are!" She stands in front of Jeralt, studying him.

"Ah, no. I'm not the one you're looking for." He lightly laughs and his gaze goes to his son. "You can handle things from here. Good luck!" He turns around and beings to leave, not before leaving Byleth with a message. "Watch out for Lady Rhea. I don't know what she's thinking making you a professor like this. Be on your guard." He takes his leave and walks out the door.

"So it's you then? So young..." The woman comments.

"Competence and age are not necessarily correlated, as you well know." The man says, intrigued. "I am Hanneman, a Crest scholar and professor at the academy here. I wonder if you bear a crest of your own. When you have a moment to spare, I insist that you pay me a visit so we can delve further into the subject."

"I'm Manuela. I'm a professor, a physician, a songstress," She turns her head to Nero, Dante, and V; winking at all of them. "and available. It's nice to meet you all."

"Sorry lady, I'm taken." Nero says, laying his back to the floor. "I got the love of my life back home."

"Now then. It seems you'll back taking charge of one of the academy's three houses. I expect you haven't been briefed on the nature of each, have you?

Byleth shakes his head.

Manuela looks baffled, "Do you really not know? Fine, I'll do you a favor and explain. The Officer's Academy is comprised of three houses of students, each of which is closely affiliated with its region of origin. The Black Eagle House is for students from the Adrestian Empire. Their house leader is Edelgard, the imperial princess, who is in line to be the next empress."

Hanneman continues from Manuela, "The Blue Lion House is for students from the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Their house leader this year is Prince Dimitri. He is next to be the king of Faerghus."

"Lastly, there is the Golden Deer House, which is for students of the Leicester Alliance. Their house leader is Claude, grandson to Duke Riegan, the leader of the alliance." Manuela finished.

"To think that the next emperor, king, and sovereign duke are all here." Hanneman added.

"Sounds like it's going to be one hell of a year for you professors." Dante comments.

Hanneman chuckles. "It will be. For now however, I suggest taking a stroll around the academy to get your bearings. And when you have a moment, please stop by my lab."

"Oh, and keep in mind that I've only notified the house leaders that you're our new professor. It's more fun that way." Manuela smiles. "Lady Rhea should have more information for you tomorrow, but what we've discussed should be enough to get going."

"Thank you." Byleth says. He turns to walk out the door.

"As for you three, you can take a rest for now until Lady Rhea calls for you."

"Fine with me. I'm ready for a nap right about now. Been stabbed, hacked at, and thrown from great heights. But before that, any way I can get some food?" Dante said, getting on the floor to lie down. "Looks like Nero's already out of it."

"Of course, I'll have someone bring up something for you three."

"Thanks!" He winks at her. "Good to know someone has my back around here."

Nero can be seen on the floor, sprawled out.

"Whaddya know, I guess it doesn't take much to fall asleep after fighting for pretty much 2 days straight." Dante laughs. "You should get some rest to, V. We have a lot to discuss."

"Indeed, I guess I will." V says, sitting and resting in a near by corner.

A couple hours pass as they nod in an out of consciousness. A servant comes by and delivers freshly baked bread and fresh squeezed juice. They finish it off quickly. Dante and V fall asleep for a couple more hours, but Nero stays awake. All is quiet until the chamber door opened once more and Rhea walked in.

"Good afternoon, boys." She smiles, "I hope you enjoyed your little nap."

"I was, until a slamming door ruined it." Dante said, getting up and rubbing the back of his head.

"I enjoyed mine quite well." V said, standing up, fully to attention.

"I've been up. Byleth has been running around the monastery introducing himself to the students." Nero says, leaning against the wall.

Rhea nods her head. "Indeed he has, I except much from him."

"I wonder why that is, Rhea. What do you see in that child that no one else can? The people, whom you put some much trust in, seem against it so." V asks, maintaining eye contact.

"I don't exactly know myself. I guess it would have to be since he was trained by Jeralt himself and since he's around the age of the students, much like yourselves, he would be fit for the job. After all, Alois and the house leaders say he did exceptionally well during the battle with the bandits."

"Hmm..." Dante focuses in on her. "Is that really the reason?"

She smiles once more, "That is the honest reason."

"Alright. What more did you find out about our situation?" Nero asked, moving to stand by Dante's side.

"I haven't found anything to be honest. I looked through the library and found nothing to mention of such a phenomenon. I'll try asking some of the mages around the monastery when I get the chance."

"Jeez, this sucks. So many questions and no answers." Nero furiously stomped his foot.

"Calm down there, hothead. We can't do anything, so ya gonna need to accept that. At least for now, until we do find that way, we should set up shop." Dante smirked.

"What do you mean, Dante?" Nero asked inventively.

"Well, if we can't hunt demons in our world. I guess we can in this one, huh?"

"Hmm..." Nero ponders.

Rhea speaks up, "That's quite an idea, but I will only allow it under the authority of the monastery, and if you can prove that you can fight."

The chamber doors open once more. Byleth walked calmly through the door followed by Manuela, Seteth, and Hanneman. He gave a slight wave to Dante, Nero, and V as the other professors smiled.

"Ah, Byleth. How are you enjoying your time at the academy thus far? I hoped you have found our halls brimming with the vitality of well-intentioned souls." Rhea asked happily.

"Hm. I suppose it is time for you to take charge of one of our three houses of students." Seteth said, putting his hand to his chin. "I must note that I am personally against entrusting someone as lacking in traceable history as yourself with such as task, but it is a the archbishop desires."

Manuela excitably says, "The Black Eagles, the Blue Lions, and the Golden Deer... All so different. I hope you've made it a point to get to know each of them."

"Since you are new here, we have decided to allow you first pick. Manuela and I will take charge of the two remaining houses. So which house will you choose, Byleth?" Hanneman asks.

"I choose..."

A/N: It would have taken a long time and wouldn't have been helpful to describe every single student. So I skipped it.


End file.
